


stranger to blue water

by nickelsandcoats



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Coming Out, F/M, M/M, ear biscuits, implied ot4 - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:00:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28221303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nickelsandcoats/pseuds/nickelsandcoats
Summary: Ever since he can remember, Link has dreamed of drowning.
Relationships: Christy Neal/Link Neal, Jessie McLaughlin/Rhett McLaughlin, Rhett McLaughlin/Link Neal
Comments: 6
Kudos: 34
Collections: Mythical Secret Santa 2020





	stranger to blue water

**Author's Note:**

> This gift is for the Mythical fandom!
> 
> I chose this prompt: An Ear Biscuits session between them where Link comes out. How that'd work if it ever did. 
> 
> I know it's not exactly following the letter of the prompt, but this just poured out of me and I hope you enjoy it!

“Welcome to Ear Biscuits. I’m Link, and this week at the round table of dim lighting….” he swallowed and pushed his glasses up his nose. “I have a story to tell you.”

“It’s just me here today--I, uh, I asked Kiko if he’d set all this up so all I had to do was come in and hit a few buttons. And he did, so, uh, thanks, Kiko.

“Anyway, I have a story to tell you, Rhett, and maybe the mythical beasts if I ever get the courage to release this to the public, but for now, uh, this is a story for you. And me. Us, really.”

Link paused and pressed his index finger to his lips, pressing hard enough to feel his teeth behind his upper lip. He cleared his throat, looked down, adjusted the microphone. Glancing at the camera, he took a deep breath and steeled himself.

“I don’t, I don’t even know where to start. What’s a beginning? I just hope that…. No, I know that you won’t hate me. We love and respect each other too much for that. Been through too much together for that.

“And I want you to know I’ve talked to Christy about this, and my therapist. And I want you to know that Christy is totally on board with all this. Said she’s known since the beginning. And that I should say something to you before this drags on too much longer than it already has. She’s right. She’s always right, and so now I’m sitting here in an empty room, talking to you. Telling you a story, since that’s what I know how to do.”

He paused again, dropping his head down into his palms, fingertips rubbing circles in his hair. Link lifted his head and started fidgeting with his wedding ring, watching the light glint off the gold as he spun the ring in between his hands.

“Ever since I can remember, I’ve dreamed about drowning. I would wake up, convinced my lungs were full of water and my chest just….aching...and I’d scream and scream until Mom would come running and comfort me. 

“They never stopped, these dreams. When I was really little, I’d just see the water closing over me, and darkness, until I woke up. It wasn’t until we were, gosh, ten? eleven? years old that the dream would change and I’d hear you screaming for me as I went under. Mom said I’d wake her up yelling your name.”

He took a shaky breath.

“I don’t have to remind you about the time we both almost drowned in the Cape Fear. That night, I went home and dreamed about drowning again, and you screaming my name, but this time, your hand came down and grabbed at me before I slipped too far down. And that was the dream I had all through college, all through adulthood. At least, until now. Now….you catch me before I slip away, haul me back up. Hold me tight…..”

He stopped, slid his wedding ring back onto his finger.

“Maybe I’m not making sense. Maybe….I should be more blunt.

“Once upon a time, there was a little boy who was lonely and didn’t quite know it yet. He was looking for a best friend, and found one on the first day of first grade. Those two little boys spent as much time together as they could, and the little boy wasn’t lonely anymore. They played in the woods and in the creek, laughed until they cried, and were always, always together. 

“But one day, the little boy, now older and wiser, looked at his best friend and was confused. He loved his friend, couldn’t imagine living without him. But the Bible and everyone else said that only husbands and wives lived together, and boys couldn’t live together. So that boy never said anything to his best friend, afraid he’d push him away. As they got older, that boy wanted to kiss his girlfriends, but he wanted to kiss his best friend, too. After all, he loved his best friend. But he had been told that was sinful and wrong, and to never ever ever kiss another boy. Ever.”

Link brushed a finger under his right eye, wiping away the tears that were gathering there. 

“So the boy hid his feelings deep down inside, vowing never to say them out loud. And then the friends made an oath to create something big together when they grew up, and he thought _I get to keep him forever. Even if it’s not the way I want to, he’ll still be there_. 

“And the friends grew up and went to college, and met wonderful women who would become their wives, and they had children and moved across the country and left their church. And now that boy is sitting here, alone, in the studio at the company he and his best friend built, surrounded by love and laughter and so, so many memories.”

He swallowed thickly, tears flowing freely now.

“I talked to Christy about this, about how I felt, and she told me I had to say something to you. I was, well, am, afraid of how you’ll react, but she told me to be brave, that you’ll react better than I think you will. So, here it goes.

“You’ve pulled me up and out and showed me how to love myself and not be afraid. So I’ll try to be brave; I can’t keep this a secret anymore. I love you. It’s always been you. I know there’s no way you feel the same way, but I have to tell you. I have always loved you, been in love with you since college. I never thought we had a chance, so I never said anything, but it’s true. I hope...I hope you don’t hate me, or judge me. Me and Christy have talked so much about this, and she understands, if there was ever a chance, even a glimmer that you felt the same way, that we could explore together and she would be fine with it. She said, ‘there’s a chance for all of us to be so, so happy. There’s enough room in your heart to love us both, and that’s that.’ And that just breaks my heart. Her hope, that is. I just….I don’t know. I can’t see a way forward if all of us aren’t on board. And I know you wouldn’t be. But sometimes, I see the way you look at me, and I think about how much you do to protect me, and I think….maybe. There’s the smallest of smallest chances that you might feel the same way I do. 

“But anyway, I knew I could never be brave enough to tell you this to your face, so Christy suggested making a recording. So here I am. Confessing my soul and my love to an empty room. I just….I don’t know what to say, anymore, really. Feel free to delete this recording, and forget everything I’ve said. I just needed to say it out loud. I’m in love with you, have been for most of my life, and I won’t apologize for it. I hope you’ll forgive me. I can’t...I can’t hold it in anymore.”

He leaned over and clicked the stop button viciously, then dropped his head into his hands again and let the sobs come. After he’d finally calmed down, he stood up, fiddled with the laptop and saved the video file to a flash drive. Before he lost his nerve, he wrote a quick note on a post-it and stuck it on the drive, then left it on Rhett’s desk. He fled the studio, falling into Christy’s arms when he made it home.

“What if I’ve ruined everything? Our friendship, the company, all our employees. What will we do if he hates me and wants to call it quits? Oh, God, I should go back and delete that recording. He’ll never need to know.” He made to pull away, but Christy held him fast.

“Baby, I’ve never seen you back down from anything, and I won’t let you do it now. Rhett won’t hate you and you know that as well as I do. I am so proud of you for doing this. You deserve your full measure of happiness. Do you know that I think you’ve been more you these past few months than you ever have been? Do you have any idea how happy I am that you are finally embracing all of yourself and giving yourself the love you give everyone else? Everything will be fine, I promise you.” She rocked him gently in her arms, smoothing her hand down his back in long, measured strokes until he finally pulled his face from the crook of her neck, sniffling and ineffectually wiping away his tears. 

Christy smiled at him, wiping away his tears with a gentle brush of her fingers. “There you are.” She leaned in and kissed him gently, diving back in for a few smaller kisses before she pressed her forehead to his. “Let’s go to bed, darling.”

Later, she curled around him, holding him tightly to her chest and listened to him breathe. Before he dropped off to sleep, Link heard her whisper, “You have three people who love you beyond anything on this earth, and I hope you believe it. You deserve all this love, baby. You are so, so loved. So loved.”

The next morning, Link came into the office a little later than Rhett, and the flash drive had disappeared from Rhett’s desk. Link swallowed down the lump in his throat and desperately tried to pretend everything was fine, and to his credit, Rhett didn’t quiz him on the note he’d left on the drive asking the other man to listen to it privately. Instead, they’d been pulled into a whirlwind two days, barely having time to speak to each other outside of filming and seemingly endless meetings.

On the third night after he’d recorded his confession, Link’s phone chimed with a text. He’d just re-settled down on the couch after Christy and the kids had gone to bed, hoping to have a moment to unwind after these busy two days.

_Can you come to the creative house?_

Link’s heart leapt into his throat. _When?_

_Now would be good. I’m here_

With shaking fingers, Link sent a confirmation that he was on his way, then crept upstairs to let Christy know where he was going. He was still shaking, and Christy knew him far too well. She caught his hand as he leaned down to give her a quick kiss and held him fast. 

“Breathe, baby,” she implored. “This will all be fine. Stop looking like you’re heading to your doom and go get your man.” She squeezed his hand and kissed him soundly. “Love you. Now get going.”

Link pulled back and quirked a smile at her, feeling his heart calm at her reassurances.

The drive to the creative house passed in a blur. Link pulled in next to Rhett’s car in the driveway and sat for a moment, gripping the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white. “Just breathe,” he repeated over and over until the words had lost their meaning. His vision blurred as tears started to fall and he released his grip on the wheel to dash angrily at his eyes. “Fuck it,” he whispered viciously as he flung the car door open and stalked to the front door, hesitating for just an instant before jamming his key into the lock and swinging the door open.

He was met with the sound of his own voice, echoing faintly through the house. … _I just needed to say it out loud. I’m in love with you, have been for most of my life, and I won’t apologize for it._. And then there was a pause, and the phrase repeated, and again and again. Link stood in the living room, hands clenched, fighting back the angry tears that were forming. Wasn’t it enough to hear it once? He didn’t see the need to draw this out any longer. He’d take Rhett’s anger and let it roll off his shoulders and hope that after this storm had passed, they would still be able to work together and not have it be awkward. His feet propelled him without his consent towards Rhett’s office, towards the whispered sound of his own agony and breaking heart recorded for posterity.

Rhett saw him before he could knock--the man was pacing his office in tight circles, hands clenching and unclenching at his sides. His eyes were wild and glassy, and Link hesitated in the doorway, uncertain how to read this reaction. Rhett stopped his pacing and drew himself up a bit, meeting Link’s eyes.

His mouth worked for a moment before finally Rhett whispered, “Why?”

Link looked down and away, rubbing his index finger against his thumb. “I’m sorry--”

Rhett cut him off, stalking forward until he was within a foot of Link. “No, don’t. I don’t want to hear apologies. I just….” He surged forward and grabbed Link into a bear hug, wrapping his long arms around Link’s smaller frame and clutching him tightly. He lowered his head until it was resting in the crook of Link’s neck, and breathed in deeply, beard tickling the soft skin there. “I had no idea, bo.”

Link slowly brought his own arms up around his friend, pulling him in even tighter, closing his eyes. “I’m sorry,” he murmured. “I can keep it set aside, I’ve got lots of practice.” He chuckled a bit self-deprecatingly as Rhett pulled away, staring aghast at him.

Then Rhett’s expression softened and he reached up, cupping Link’s face gently. “No, bo. I meant I had no idea you felt the same as I do.”

Link stared at him, blinking uncomprehendingly as Rhett’s words jumbled in his brain. “I….I don’t….what? What?!”

Rhett chuckled softly and leaned in to press a soft, gentle kiss on Link’s forehead. “You always were the braver of the two of us,” he said. “C’mon, let’s go sit down before you keel over, man.”

Taking his hand, Rhett led Link back into the living room and sank down on the couch, keeping their hands clasped loosely between their knees. They stared at each other for several long moments, before Rhett finally broke their gaze, looking down at his shoes and clearing his throat.

“Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d ever have this conversation with you. I was too scared to upset what we had, and if Jessie hadn’t started prodding me months ago to just tell you already, I never would have considered bringing it up.” He paused and gave Link a shy smile. “But you were braver than me and beat me to the punch.”

“‘m not brave,” Link whispered, “but I couldn’t stay silent anymore. You...you heard the recording, you know all this already. I can’t believe this. I never, ever, ever believed that you felt the same. Still don’t, if I’m honest.” He pulled his hand out of Rhett’s and curled into himself a bit, hunching his shoulders and looking far smaller than he had any reason to.

Rhett was silent for a moment, then his low voice commanded, “Look at me, bo.” He waited until Link’s eyes met his own before he said, intensely, “I love you. I’m in love with you, and have been for years and years. That story you told of the two little boys? I could have told you that same story, verbatim.”

Link’s lips trembled as he struggled to maintain their eye contact. He was gasping little puffs of breath in an effort to keep a modicum of his composure, but he was rapidly falling apart. “Rhett, I--”

“I love you,” Rhett interjected, “and I will spend every day of the rest of our lives telling you that, showing you that, if you’ll let me.”

Link could only nod, and reach out to crush Rhett to him, burying his face in Rhett’s shirt and sobbing until he ran out of tears. Rhett murmured small nothings into his ear, rubbing his back and shushing him softly. 

“Better?” Rhett asked when Link finally caught his breath and turned his head to press his cheek to the damp spot he’d made on Rhett’s shirt. 

Link shrugged a bit but nodded, sniffing deeply and pushing his glasses back up his nose. 

“There’s a lot we need to talk about. All four of us,” Rhett said, “but I think I can speak for Jessie and say that she’s on board with whatever we decide.”

“And Christy is too.”

Rhett nodded, his beard brushing against Link’s forehead. They sat like in silence for long minutes, just listening to the other breathe. Finally, Link stirred a bit and whispered, “Can I be brave again?”

“Of course, bo.”

“I know there’s still so much we need to talk about and figure out how this will all work out, but for now, can I...can I kiss you? I can’t stop thinking about it, I know it’s a bit soon, but--”

Rhett cut him off by leaning back a bit and gently lifting Link’s chin up so he could look deep into his eyes. “You can kiss me anytime you want, bo,” he rasped.

Link surged up and forward and captured Rhett’s lips, pulling back in surprise at the unfamiliar feeling of a beard brushing against his face, but quickly leaned back in and kissed him deeply, as if Rhett were the one who had saved him from drowning. 

And in a way, he had.

Several weeks later, they were back to record a new episode of Ear Biscuits. As Kiko and the crew finalized their checks, Rhett nudged Link with his knee and asked, “Ready?”

“As I’ll ever be.” Link gave him a warm smile, refusing to let the tendrils of his fear at coming out publicly that were lurking in his mind show. 

Rhett saw it anyway, and reached over to take Link’s hand, tugging on it to pull the other man closer. He brushed a kiss across Link’s knuckles, holding his lips there for a few beats, until Link’s smile widened again and a little blush crept over his cheeks. He took a deep breath, and glanced over at Kiko, who gave them a thumbs up. He kept a hold of Link’s hand, keeping their hands prominently placed in the middle of their table, rubbing his thumb reassuringly over the back of Link’s hand.

“Welcome to Ear Biscuits. I’m Rhett--”

“And I’m Link. And this week at the round table of dim lighting...well, we’ve got a story to tell you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Come visit me on my [Tumblr](https://nickelsandcoats.tumblr.com/)!


End file.
